Twenty-Three: Be Afraid of Me
by Predaliena
Summary: Mary was researching the Creeper, hoping to take her revenge on him for kidnapping and killing her brother twenty-three years ago. Now an adult woman, she sets out to find the monster and learn more about him. She succeeds in finding him, but something in her sparks an interest in the Creeper. In the end it resulted in something she would never forget.


**CREATURES ON FIRE**

**Part 12: Twenty-Three: Be Afraid Of Me (Jeepers Creepers)**

Mary was desperate. It has been twenty-three years since her little brother had been taken by a creature that, as she thought, came right from the depths of Hell. The nine-year old Danny had even no time to react when suddenly something flew out of the nearby forest like a rocket and carried him away in an unknown direction. Mary was just twelve years old then, but she had an idea that Danny's kidnapper wasn't human. She had spotted the creature before while it was watching her family from different hiding spots; sometimes seeing it being dressed in a dark cloak and fedora hat, and sometimes she had seen it without any clothes, waving its membranous dragon-like wings. No one but Mary had seen the monster, but even her own parents did not believe her when she mentioned a monster being in their area that was spying on them more than once. But strangely enough, Mary felt little to no fear of the creature, even after seeing it carrying Danny away. It surprised her family no less that her, considering the grief they were in after losing their son. Only in her adulthood, around the age of twenty she learned about her state that was known as "ataraxia", the inability to feel distress, fear, and worry; even in most dangerous situations. And now, when twenty-three years have passed, and she turned thirty-five, Mary sat at her laptop, having done enough research about the blood-thirsty demon that preyed on humans every twenty-third spring. The most important fact was that it found its prey by instilling fear into them, thus being able to smell them and decide whether they have something it needed or not. Mary's lips stretched in an evil grin. Knowing her inability to feel fear, she wouldn't give the monster the satisfaction to smell her fear.

Finally she switched of the laptop and stood up from her chair, rubbing her hands in anticipation.

"I'm ready for you. Come and get me, you son of a bitch!"

On the other hand, the words she just said made Mary giggle. What could she do against this creature? She knew basic facts, but much was still unknown. What exactly is he, or it? She wasn't sure whether the monster had sex or not, but from what she remembered the creature had some features of a male, at least facially. And where does he come from? Is there even a way to put an end to his carnage once and for all? Such creatures do not die easily, and Mary wasn't even sure whether it was mortal or not. But she wanted to know more. She tried to gather as much information from people as possible, but still many questions were left unanswered. So there was the only way left.

She had to face the monster on her own.

Only so there was possibility to know more, and maybe, just maybe she would take her revenge on him.

For Danny.

For her family.

For all the sorrow he made her go through.

It has been too long since he hunted for innocent victims, and now he was going to do it again. But this time someone will be waiting.

She was going to see who will be the hunter this time, and who will have the role of prey.

0o0o0o0o0o0

It was now the end of March, and that pretty meant that the monster's hunting time had begun. She knew he usually hunts for twenty-three days before falling into slumber for the next twenty-three years. During this time she hoped to learn more about him, but to do that, she had to find him. Mary had no idea where to look for him so she left her apartment at dusk, wandering around in hope for an encounter. Each sensible person would call her insane if he or she found out that she was searching for a monster that wouldn't hesitate to murder her in cold blood and use her body as a decoration for the walls of his lair. But Mary didn't care about what people would think of her. Her brother was taken and most likely was dead, father began to drink after Danny disappeared, and mother had gone insane and got locked in a mental asylum. In fact, Mary had nothing else to lose. This monster had ruined her family, and now she was ready to do anything to ruin his fun.

Even if it meant sacrificing her own life.

Thus she wandered around the area for several days and every time her search for the mysterious creature failed. Searching for him was like looking for a needle in a pile of hay. Mary was ready to fall into despair and admit her defeat until something quite unexpected happened. The sun had already set and darkness was slowly consuming everything. Mary was on her way home when she heard a dog growling angrily in one of the yards while she passed. It seemed weird to her as no dog had ever growled at her when she walked by, but this time it was different. Mary noticed then that the dog growled in fear instead of anger and was looking somewhere behind her back. Turning around, she felt her heart start beating faster, her eyes widening more of surprise. The monster, known among people as the Creeper, stood in the middle of deserted road, rays of street lights illuminating the spot behind him, so only a dark cloaked silhouette was visible. Mary still felt no fear before the creature, despite knowing what it was capable of. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked towards the monster until she was standing so close to him that she could make out his face features.

"There you are," Mary hissed quietly, but it was loud enough for the monster to hear. "Finally I found you." She crossed her arms on her chest. "I'm not afraid of you, do you hear me? Come and get me, asshole, if you dare!"

The Creeper watched her in silence, and Mary could see that he was at least a bit confused. He sure didn't expect a human being that brave before him, especially when having nothing to defend herself. He sniffed the air, trying to catch at least one hint of fear emanating from her, but felt nothing. All he could see was sparks of defiance burning in her dark eyes.

Well, it looked like she was daring him to scare her at least, and the monster grinned, revealing his sharp teeth to her. Mary could see that his face expressed fun, and it could mean one thing.

Challenge accepted.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Mary had no time to ponder about anything when the monster grabbed her by the waist and spread his wings out; and in the next second she felt herself being lifted up moved farther and farther away from the ground. She sure didn't expect flying like that in her life, and that move was sudden to say the least. Mary wasn't afraid of height, but such flight, while being in a monster's arms instead of a plane or a helicopter, made her feel slightly dizzy. She had no idea how much time has passed while he carried her in the air like that, but when a seemingly abandoned building appeared in sight, the Creeper reduced the speed and began descending until he finally landed in front of a heavy metal door. The building was literally located in the middle of nowhere, so no wonder no one has discovered his new shelter. Mary knew that before his lair was hidden in a basement under an old, abandoned church; but as it was discovered by a pair of siblings, Trish and Darius Jenner, the monster had no other choice but to burn the place to ashes so no cops or authorities could get inside and find his bizarre collection of bodies that he somehow managed to attach to the walls and ceiling. Still holding his precious cargo, the Creeper pushed the heavy door until it was open enough for him to squeeze through with a woman on his shoulder, and then slammed the door shut, its sound echoing through the empty building like thunder. While he carried her, Mary managed to study the building a bit. Some time ago it had been a factory of some sort, but had already been abandoned for God knows how long. The whole place was horribly damp and somewhere the water was leaking inside, and only the dripping sounds could break the dead silence that reigned in this place. And, not to mention, it was very, very dark; and no wonder as the night had already fallen down the entire area. Mary wasn't sure whether there were any windows or at least cracks somewhere that light could go through, but she had to wait till the sunrise to find it out.

Or, more precise, if she managed to survive until dawn.

Then suddenly a new sound reached her ears, and this time Mary couldn't hold back her surprise. It was a sound of… a vintage gramophone? It seemed very much that way. The closer the monster approached the source of this strange sound, the more Mary's nose felt the smell of paraffin. When the Creeper finally stopped and dropped her down on the ground, the first thing Mary's glance caught were rows of burning candles and an antique gramophone that played an old song she had never heard before:

_Jeepers Creepers_

_Where'd ya get those peepers?_

_Jeepers Creepers_

_Where'd ya get those eyes?_

Mary slowly got up and could only mutter a silent "wow". A monster that enjoyed listening to music? And burning candles? This was something she truly did not expect from a being like him. What she saw here totally broke all her ideas and knowledge about monsters. This creature was definitely much more intelligent than she thought. And if it wasn't for the bodies that occupied major part of the wall on her left and a presence of a carnivorous monster, the general atmosphere seemed almost romantic.

The Creeper watched the woman with interest. Still no fear emanated from her, despite seeing where she was, especially a large amount of bodies attached to the wall. Instead, her curiosity grew stronger with every second. She was the first victim that raised so much interest inside him and a wish to study her more. He watched how Mary walked to the wall with the bodies and just inspected it, not being afraid to touch them. And to her surprise, the bodies felt hard like wood and looked like naked mannequins rather than actual corpses. She wondered how he managed to achieve that body tissues hardened that way, but knew that it was no use asking him anything as this monster wasn't a talkative type.

Hearing his footsteps behind her back, Mary turned around to stand face-to-face with her captor which startled her a bit. The Creeper wasted no time and grabbed her by the neck, pressing her form firmly to the wall free of bodies. But even that instilled no fear into this strange woman, thus robbing him of the possibility to find out whether she had something that he wanted or not. Mary watched how something began moving up on his head until she saw that those were sharp spikes, each connected to another with a membrane, thus making the monster look like a frilled lizard a bit. Together with that he expanded his wings once again and shrieked so loudly that Mary had to cover her ears. It was the first sound she heard of this creature, and that sounded pretty much like what could be called inhuman. She couldn't even recall any animal that made sounds at least a bit similar to that. And while Mary watched him, her lips stretched in a playful smirk. The monster clearly exerted himself, trying to frighten her, but all his attempts failed miserably so far. His facial expression showed irritation and almost screamed out: _Be afraid of me, human!_ _Be very afraid!_

But she still wasn't.

"Someone doesn't look so happy, eh?" Mary almost giggled, trying not to burst into laughing, but kept herself under control. If she started laughing, it might raise his anger. The spikes on Creeper's head then returned back to their place, his head now looking more human-like. He tilted his head instead and growled. "I see that you're trying to scare me in all possible ways, but sorry, I'm not afraid of you. I have always been like that, since childhood. State like mine is called "ataraxia", in case if you want to know. And yes, I'm the one whose brother you carried away twenty-three years ago. By the way, where is he?"

After Mary finished her monologue, the Creeper released his grip a bit, but didn't remove his hand from her neck yet. Of course, he remembered the day he carried a boy away, being the last victim before he fell into slumber, and a girl witnessed it. Already then he noticed that nothing emanated from her, not even a single hint of fear. But then he had to hurry as his time was close to the end. And now she was an adult female and got into his hands. Isn't it a strange coincidence?

Or was it even a coincidence?

It didn't matter at this moment. The Creeper still hoped to feel whether there was something useful inside her, so he pressed his face to the soft neck of the woman and pulled the air in. It was then when Mary spotted something like a third nostril between his eyes, thus increasing his sense of smell at least three times than human sense of smell. He could probably smell things even better than dogs, but Mary had no time to ponder about it now. While he was busy with sniffing her, Mary slowly brought her hand to a bush of grey hair on the back of his head and pulled roughly, earning a loud and sudden growl from the monster. His eyes widened a bit, as he obviously didn't expect her to do anything like that. Using the moment of his confusion, Mary imitated his manner of sniffing.

"I can do this as well, you know," she grinned, although her strength couldn't be compared to his. If he wanted, he could break her neck in a mere second or something worse than that. And still she was peaceful as a stone statue.

Lucky for her, no anger appeared on Creeper's face. On the contrary, he was clearly entertained by her behavior, although it surprised him a little. Nevertheless, he continued his sniffing business, using his tongue on her neck now and then. And instead of turning away and feeling disgusted, Mary felt that she was slowly getting… aroused. Her face grew crimson when she felt heat pooling into her lower region. Of course, the Creeper couldn't miss that. He felt her arousal and stretched his mouth into a grin again.

Now this was really going to be fun.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Mary shut her eyes from the enjoyable feeling of this monster sniffing her like that and licking her neck. He planted a few bites on her skin as well, but not strong enough to bite off a piece of flesh. For now, the Creeper changed his mind and decided not to harm her in any way or form. Besides, the feeling of her arousal made his body heat up. And each time he bit her neck, she replied to that with barely audible moans which only increased his hunger for her.

This time though it was different type of hunger.

The Creeper discarded his tattered cloak followed by his dark worn pants, revealing the sight of his grey flesh. Mary couldn't help her curiosity and touched his skin that felt very thick and far from soft. In fact, it felt almost like some kind of shell. It didn't surprise her too much though as she was sure that some people have definitely tried to shoot the monster, and such skin served him as armor. Besides, from what she learned from her research, the Creeper eats body parts that replace the old ones inside his body, thus increasing his strength, stamina, and ability to survive the attacks. Anyway, no matter what purpose his rough skin served, generally his body pretty much resembled human one, except for skin color, wings, and sharp teeth and claws. As she expected, his member was larger than any man had, and now, when it was fully erected, it had pretty impressive size. Mary, of course, used the moment and quickly got rid of her clothes, and both stood naked before each other, hiding nothing. The Creeper stood there, his eyes burning into hers so intensely like no other being had ever looked at her. He devoured her bare flesh with his glance, moving one of his clawed hands up and down her silky skin and cupping her breasts. With every touch on her body Mary's desire for him only grew stronger, and when his fingers slid between her fleshy thighs and found a sensitive bud, she arched her head with a moan. At this moment she wanted no more than feeling him inside her.

Feeling the wetness between her legs, the monster removed his hand from there and brought his fingers to his mouth, leaping up her juices of pleasure. Her taste nearly made him lose control, but he managed to keep himself from delving into rough, barbaric copulation. He wasn't done with tasting his female, so the Creeper kneeled down and touched the bud with his tongue, making her cry out her pleasure once more. Mary spread her legs as much as it was possible in standing position, allowing his tongue slide further along her slit. Here the smell of her arousal was the strongest, and the monster finally felt that his body demands to take her right now and then. He just couldn't stand the sweet tension anymore. Mary was growing especially impatient, and when her demonic lover finally stood up, she realized that the time for the real pleasure has come.

The Creeper lifted the female's body so that their hips were approximately on the same level, thus making it easier for him to enter her. Mary, in turn, locked her legs around the monster's hips for stability and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling his chest pressing firmly to her breasts. He plunged into her opening rather swiftly, in one quite rough movement, but his member wasn't that huge to cause inconvenience. Yes, it was rather large, but when her insides stretched enough to accommodate to his size, there was nothing to complain about. Mary now had no doubts that she was going to enjoy it after all.

The movement of monster's hips increased fast as slow speed didn't give him the satisfaction he craved for; and soon enough the coition of two so different lovers became fierce and insanely passionate, but so damn wonderful. Mary had no idea that sometime in her life she would have a possibility to experience something like that. But here she was, in an abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere, in a candle-lit room with dead bodies as a wall decoration and enjoying the company of her demonic lover that came from God knows where and that made her approach her orgasm with every thrust of his hips. The cacophony of her moans and his lustful growls filled the room, echoing through the entire factory, and both had little care if someone might hear them. All that they cared about was to enjoy the approaching of the sweet final of this unusual coupling.

Mary was the first to give in to her euphoria, and with a loud cry she climaxed, her insides clenching around his rock-hard member, still thrusting into her with inhuman speed. The Creeper, in turn, continued his movement for several seconds until he was unable to stand it anymore. Feeling her warm, slick vagina tighten around his member, he released his seed into her with a loud roar, enjoying his own climax. The monster didn't regret for a second that he let this strange woman live and that's the way it was going to be till his time is up. He would enjoy her delicious body again and again, whenever he felt the need. Copulating with her was too good to miss the opportunity to do it again.

After the Creeper released Mary, allowing her to stand, her eyes expressed a questioning look.

"You still haven't answered me," she began. "Where is my brother?"

The monster turned his head to the wall with bodies and pointed somewhere up. Mary walked closer to the wall and lifted her head, trying to take a better look. And there he was, among other bodies, still young in his childish years, and his lifeless face lacked any expression. He looked like a doll, so still and so peaceful.

"Danny…" Mary whispered, feeling a single tear running down her cheek. "I'm so sorry…" The she turned to the Creeper. "But son of a bitch you are nonetheless. I would still understand hunting adults, but why did you have to kill an innocent child?" She shook her head in disapproval. The monster just smirked and shrugged. For him there was no difference. If he feels that a human being has something he needs, he won't hesitate to take him or her into his lair and eat the body part he wants. Age plays no important role in his hunt. Mary realized this and sighed sadly. Changing a monster is absolutely impossible.

While Mary was lost in thoughts, the monster lifted her in his arms, this time gently, and put her on an old mattress in the corner. Mary didn't try to resist, even when he put a chain around her right ankle to prevent her escape. Not like she was going to leave anyway, at least not now. She smirked slightly, knowing that one time was not enough for him, and he was going to keep her for himself and mate with her more than once. He sure enjoyed it, and it would be hypocritical of her to deny the pleasure he granted her tonight. Mary sat quietly, watching the monster get back to his business with another body, not bothering to put his clothes back on. And despite being truly satisfied and thus happy, her mind was occupied by different thoughts.

"_Well, here we are, me being in your lair as a mate. I'm happy about that. You granted me the euphoria that I could have only dreamed about, and I sincerely thank you for that. It was something worth the risk. But you still killed my brother and ruined my family. If I'm lucky, I'll manage to find out more about you while I'm here, and the next time we meet, I shall at least try to stop this carnage. I can only hope for the best. Time will show._

_And now I'll enjoy your company fully. There might not be another lucky chance after all."_


End file.
